Felix Has a Cold
by Coneflower Adams
Summary: A little ficlet written for a friend of mine's birthday!
1. Chapter 1

_Writer's note: Written for my Disney tumblr friend, kittysfigurines24, for her birthday!_

* * *

31 was an odd year to celebrate an anniversary, but the Nicelanders loved throwing parties.

This year things would be done right. Mary was determined to let Ralph in on the planning, and had an extensive cake testing session with him. Turns out, the wrecker loved just about every flavor and Mary gladly offered to create a special cake just for him.

Life was so different than the year before, and all the changes warmed Felix's heart. His life had changed just as much as the other 3 members of the little adopted family him, Ralph, Vanellope, and Tamora had formed. He was looking forward to the 31st anniversary party probably more than his giant colleague.

Felix whistled as he rode the elevator up to the penthouse. That's when he noticed a scratchy feeling in his throat. He shrugged it off, and went on about his day helping to prepare for the party.

Slowly as the the preparations went on, Felix's shoulders began to ache and he felt downright bad. He tried covering his sluggishness with a cheerful smile and a forced hop in his step, but all he really wanted to do was lie down. He couldn't disappoint the Nicelanders, and especially his new found best friend. He was determined to make this a swinging party for everyone.

Dressed in his best, he trudged back to the appartment building. His bride, who was finishing up perimeter checks, would arrive not long after the party started. Dancing was already in full force as he entered the penthouse. Felix shielded his sensitive eyes from the flashing lights. Hiding his discomfort was going to take some valiant effort.

He sat down in a chair close to the wall, nursing a glass of punch, and watched Ralph try his best to dance with the Nicelanders without accidentally knocking one of the little people into the wall.

Mary happen to notice him not long after he sat down, and she scurred over to retrieve him. "Felix!" she sing-songed, grabbing his hand. "You're needed on the dance floor!"

Felix resisted, earning a bewildered look from the pink lady. "I'm gonna sit this one out, Mary."

"Nonsense!" She tugged him again. "We need our star dancer!"

"No, please Mary, I'm not in the mood." Just then, he spotted Tamora ducking into the doorway and relief washed over him. "My wife just arrived! Maybe I'll hit the dance floor later." He hurried off before Mary could question his strange behavior.

A satisfied smile crossed Tamora's face when she spotted him approaching. "I'm surprised I didn't catch you dancing," Tamora remarked.

"I'l let Ralph have the spotlight tonight," Felix replied. "He deserves it."

"Fair enough." Tamora bent down, placing a kiss to his cheek. "Fix it, you're awfully warm against my lips," she exaimined his face, noticing the wornout look. She laid her palm on his forehead. "Okay, I know this isn't the honeyglows. How are you feeling?"

Felix frowned, defeated. "Not good."

Tamora pulled him out into the hallway, bending to one knee. "Why are you here if you're not feeling well?"

"I didn't want to disappoint anyone by missing the party!"

"Stubborn man," she grumbled, shaking her head in displeasure. "I'm bringing you home right now and you're going to bed."

"But Tamora!" Felix's voice cracked, causing him to cough at the scratchiness irritating his throat.

"What good are you here if you can't enjoy the party?"

Felix frowned, the fight worn out of him. "I had to try."

"Let me take care of you, soldier."

At those words, Felix gave her a small smile. Maybe being sick wouldn't be that bad, especially when you had such a beautiful caretaker. "Yes, ma'am." She grasped his hand, leading him to the elevator. "Can you make me warm tea with honey?"

"I'll do my best."


	2. Chapter 2

Tamora left Felix to change into his pajamas and ordered him straight to bed when he was done. She went to the kitchen to put a kettle on the stove for his tea. Easy enough.

Tamora wasn't very learned in the kitchen. Domestic stuff was more Felix's area in their household. But she'd cooked with him several times over the past year that they'd been together, and knew that boiling water was needed to make tea.

Walking back upstairs, Tamora sighed in frustration at the lack of thoughts on how to take care of a patient. Being in the military, the common cold was the least of a soldier's worries. You fought even if your forehead was on fire and your body ached to the point of shattering. The battlefield was no place for a pot of tea and a cozy blanket.

A small smile graced her lips as she entered their bedroom. Felix was snuggled under their comforter, only his brown mop of hair peeking out. His eyes opened to look at her, and a hand slipped out the blanket to pat the side of the bed.

Tamora needed no further convincing, and sat down. "You good, Fix-It?" she asked, gently stroking his short bangs off his forehead.

A sniffle answered her before he replied, "Snug as bug, ma'am."

"Good. Your tea will be done in 5." She felt his cheek, the uncommon heat bothering her still. She had no clue what the next step to treating him would be. Tamora felt like an idiot for hinting, but left to her own devices, Felix would have to ride out the cold with no treatment. "What else can I do for you?"

Felix cleared his throat, sounding absolutely awful. "You can make some chicken noodle soup."

Soup? Well, it's warm and it's liquid for hydration. That made sense, Tamora guessed. "I'll get right on it." She kissed his warm forehead then headed back to the kitchen.

Tamora checked the tea. She couldn't remember how long it took to steep, but the water was brown so it had to be done, right? She was reaching for the honey when the front door opened unexpectedly. Tamora grumbled about the intruders, knowing exactly who would barge in unannounced.

"Heya Sarge!" a loud voice greeted, followed by a blue glitch flashing into the kitchen. "Why'd you and mini-Thor ditch the party so early?"

"Kid!" Ralph reprimanded, catching up and wagging a disapproving finger at Vanellope. "I told you to knock first before entering!" He gritted his teeth, whispering, "Remember the talk we had after the bathroom incident?"

Vanellope snorted. "You worry too much, Gladys. Sarge loves me." The girl smiled innocently up at Tamora who had her arms folded, aggravated, over her chest. And if looks could freeze a person…

"You love me, Sarge," Van tried again.

Tamora growled, ignoring the girl's shenanigans and getting back down to business. "Look Laurel and Hardy, Felix is sick and I need to get this tea to him, pronto."

"I wanna help!" Before Tamora could protest, Vanellope swiped the mug of tea and hurried upstairs with the blonde hoping the contents would still be contained by the time it arrived to Felix.

"I'm sorry, Sarge. You know how the kid can be," Ralph apologized, hopelessly. "That's a shame about Felix. I noticed he wasn't acting himself tonight. When you two disappeared, I knew something was up. Is there anything I can help you with?"

Tamora's aggravation was slowly subsiding as the question of how in blazes did one make chicken noodle soup came to mind. "I think there is," she replied, leaning her back against the counter. "Do you know how to make chicken noodle soup?"

Ralph looked thoughtful for a moment before walking over to pantry. He scanned through the food items, smiling when he found what he was searching for. He handed Tamora a red labelled can that read, "Chicken Noodle Soup".

Tamora felt like sinking into the floor as she stared at the can, embarrassed at the simple solution to what she thought was a huge obstacle.

"I lived in a dump for 30 years. Saw a lotta soup cans."

Tamora finally shook off her embarrassment and got to work cooking it. "Gotcha. Thanks."

* * *

"Knock, knock, Hammertime," Vanellope said softer than she usually spoke as she peeked around the bedroom door.

"Sugarplum, what're you doing here?" Felix asked curiously, but not surprised to see the child. He'd propped himself up against the headboard, his small frame sunken into a fluffy pillow as he awaited the tea his lovely wife would bring back for him.

"Bringing you this." Vanellope presented the mug with an accomplished grin. She handed Felix the mug, curtsying dramatically. "Would you like one lump or two, sir?" she asked in a terrible British accent.

Felix chuckled, causing his throat to itch, but that didn't stop him from playing along. "Two, please."

Vanellope pretended to spoon out two sugar cubes from an invisible bowl, and made a plop-plop sound when she dropped the cubes in his tea.

Felix brought the rim of the mug to his lips, breathing in the steam that felt so good on his face. He sipped the beverage, the mixture of warmth and honey soothing his scratchy throat.

"It sucks you had to leave the party."

Felix's attention drew back to Vanellope. He frowned in disappointment. "Unexpected things happen. There will be many parties to attend; I'm sure of it."

"Too bad we can't bring the party to you." Vanellope's face suddenly lit up as her eyes grew wide and her mouth even wider. "That's a great idea! Be right back!" She glitched out of sight.

* * *

"Have you ever eaten an MRE?"

"Uh…" Ralph's mouth hung open for a moment at Tamora's question, "is that some sort of explosive device?"

Tamora snorted, stirring the soup. "Close enough."

"Then…no, I have not."

The soup looked hot enough, and she could tell by Ralph's awkward stance that he wasn't too keen on their conversation about strange food. Tamora was just pouring the soup in a bowl when Vanellope appeared.

"Ralphie! Sarge! I have a bodacious idea!" she exclaimed, bouncing on her tiptoes.

"Is Felix okay?" Tamora intervened, pointing a spoon at her.

"He's fine," the girl replied quickly before grabbing Ralph's hand. "Come on, big guy, no time to waste!"

"Kid, where are we-" Before he could finish, Vanellope cut in, "Be back soon, Sarge!"

Tamora pinched the bridge of her nose. What kind of cotton pickin' idea did the kid have now? She thought of locking the doors, but Van would probably just glitch thru. Tamora set the hot soup on a plate and hurried upstairs. Maybe Felix could have some peace and quiet before the princess of rowdy made it back.

* * *

"The little sugar fiend didn't bother you too much, did she?"

"Oh no," Felix answered truthfully, balancing the bowl of soup on his petite lap. "She was no bother at all." He laid a hand on hers that rested close to his side and smiled lovingly. "Thank you for taking such good care of me, Tammy."

Tamora lowered her head to hide the embarrassment behind her bangs. She debated to take the credit, but she couldn't bring herself to do so. "I have a confession."

Felix sniffled. "What's that, honeybadger?"

She gazed at the soup, watching the steam curl in the air. "I barely have a clue how to take care of a sick patient." She laughed lightly, and raised her eyes to look at Felix. "I'm sorta winging it here, short stack. If it wasn't for Ralph pointing out that chicken noodle soup comes in a can, I would have probably gone out in search of a chicken to pluck."

Tamora could tell Felix wanted to burst out in laughter, but he only cleared his throat, coughing a little in the process. "You're too precious, Tammy Jean."

"Being precious is your job, remember?" Tamora remarked, combing fingers her husband's hair gently, resulting in Felix's already pink cheeks to darken. "Now eat up before Thing 1 and Thing 2 come back."

Felix had eaten a few spoonful of soup when a knock resounded on the bedroom door. "I'm shocked. You finally did it right this time," they heard Ralph say as they entered.

"We brought cake!" Vanellope announced. She proudly presented a plate containing a huge wedge of butter cake, the pink frosting thickly slathered on.

"And music." Ralph held up a rather dated boombox.

"Where'd you dig up that fossil?" Tamora asked.

Ralph shrugged. "Gene threw it out back in 2000." He pressed the play button, and a low stream of lively party music began to play. "Still works!"

"Now hold up, you two. I don't know if Felix is up for all this excitement." Tamora stood, ready to evict them if her husband gave the okay.

They all looked at Felix. "Maybe for a little while. Besides, I'm comfy in my p.j.s and getting the best TLC a fellah could ask for."

Vanellope grabbed Tamora's hand, and dragged her out to an open space in the bedroom. "Then let's get this party started!"

There may not have been a lot of fanfare at their little private party, and Felix's sniffles and coughs may have interrupted the music from time to time. But as Tamora gave Vanellope a twirl, she glanced over at Felix and Ralph smiling at them while eating cake and knew this was better than any party they could ever attend.


End file.
